New details regarding Chloe Darnell’s death revealed during preliminary hearing Monday

There was allegedly a pattern of abuse in the home where 4-year-old Chloe Darnell most recently resided before her untimely death, according to investigators, and though the cause of that death still remains unknown, preliminary autopsy results indicate Darnell had suffered multiple fractures to the head and ribs that were likely sustained before her body was buried in a makeshift grave.

Brittany Slaughter, 24, who had joint custody of Darnell at the time of her death, and Adam Hayes, 34, both of Williamsburg, have each been charged with murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence.

The pair appeared in Whitley District Court for a preliminary hearing Monday morning, where 

the events leading up to Darnell’s death were detailed during court testimony from Whitley County Sheriff’s Lt. David Lassiter, the lead investigator in the case.

Darnell and Slaughter were reported as missing earlier this month, prompting a welfare check at the Ova Lane residence in the Canadatown community they had both most recently been living at. Within days, a search warrant was obtained for the home, eventually leading to the discovery of Darnell’s body in a makeshift grave inside the Daniel Boone National Forest just outside Ridener Cemetery. 

During Monday’s hearing, Hayes was described as the disciplinarian in the home, according to information provided by Lassiter. Hayes would allegedly dole out said discipline to Darnell for soiling herself, sometimes often going overboard and requiring intervention from Slaughter. 

Such an incident allegedly occurred sometime the day Darnell died. However, the pair have told police that is not how Darnell died.

Lassiter said that both Slaughter and Hayes told police that Darnell’s death had been accidental. The pair each allegedly told police that Darnell had a habit of climbing onto a shelf in her room and jumping off of it. On the night she died, which Lassiter said the pair told police was sometime in August, she fell from the shelf while climbing on it.

Lassiter did not have the exact measurements of the shelf, but approximated that it was around 5 feet off the ground.

Slaughter and Hayes allegedly told police that they were “high” at the time of the incident and that they attempted to perform CPR on Darnell for several hours to no avail. They allegedly did not contact 911 because they were intoxicated.

A preliminary autopsy report could not determine Darnell’s cause and manner of death, though according to Lassiter, it did show that her skull had multiple fractures and that her ribs showed sign of separation and fracture. There were also noticeable blood spots on the bones, Lassiter said.

For the full details of Monday’s hearing, see the Nov. 29 edition of the News Journal.